A New Circular Vision for Electronics

The report highlights that 50 million tonnes of e-waste were produced in 2018, with only 20% formally recycled. It advocates for a 'global reboot' of the electronics value chain through durable design, 'electronics as a service' models, and formalized urban mining to recover valuable materials and reduce carbon emissions.

• Global e-waste generation reached approximately 50 million tonnes in 2018, and this volume is projected to more than double to 120 million tonnes annually by 2050 if current trends continue.
• The material value of global e-waste is estimated at $62.5 billion annually, which exceeds the GDP of most countries and is three times the annual output of the world's silver mines.
• Current global recycling rates for e-waste are low, with only 20% dealt with appropriately; the remaining 80% is undocumented and often ends up in landfills or is processed by informal workers in hazardous conditions.
• The production and use of electronics, including smartphones and laptops, are projected to account for 14% of total global carbon emissions by 2040.
• Informal e-waste recycling, particularly in developing countries, poses severe health risks to women and children, who make up to 30% of the informal workforce, leading to increased rates of miscarriages, birth defects, and infant mortality.
• The report proposes a shift toward 'electronics as a service' (EaaS) and dematerialization, where manufacturers retain ownership and are incentivized to design for durability, repair, and optimal resource recovery.
• Lithium-ion batteries present a specific challenge; while the market is growing rapidly, the global recycling rate is only 42%, and the demand for materials like cobalt is linked to dangerous working conditions and child labour in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

APA

World Economic Forum (2019). A New Circular Vision for Electronics. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_A_New_Circular_Vision_for_Electronics.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. A New Circular Vision for Electronics. 2019. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_A_New_Circular_Vision_for_Electronics.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=A New Circular Vision for Electronics |date=January 2019 |url=https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_A_New_Circular_Vision_for_Electronics.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2019new, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{A New Circular Vision for Electronics}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2019}, month = jan, url = {https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_A_New_Circular_Vision_for_Electronics.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }